Electronic Devices with Intuitive Sharing Capabilities

ABSTRACT

An electronic device may use information about the location of nearby devices to make sharing with those devices more intuitive for a user. When two devices are pointed towards one another, each device may automatically present the option to share information with the other device. When a user wishes to share information with one or more devices in a group of users, an array of icons representing the nearby users may be positioned on the display according to the locations of the nearby users so that the sharing user can easily select which user he or she wishes to share with. A sharing user may broadcast a signal and nearby users may elect to receive the signal by pointing their devices towards the sharing user. A user of two devices may share information between the two devices and may use one device to manipulate the information on the other device.

This application is a continuation of patent application Ser. No.15/705,143, filed Sep. 14, 2017, which claims the benefit of provisionalpatent application No. 62/531,509, filed Jul. 12, 2017, and provisionalpatent application No. 62/395,929, filed Sep. 16, 2016, all of which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

FIELD

This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, towireless electronic devices that are used to communicate with otherwireless electronic devices.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices often include wireless communications circuitry. Forexample, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often containantennas and wireless transceivers for supporting wirelesscommunications.

Wireless electronic devices often communicate with other nearby wirelesselectronic devices. For example, a user may wirelessly share files withanother nearby user over a short-range communications link such asBluetooth® or WiFi®.

Sharing information wirelessly with nearby electronic devices can becumbersome for a user. The user may have to take several steps to shareinformation with another device. The user may not know when the deviceof another user is sufficiently close to establish a short-rangewireless communications link. There may be multiple devices withinrange, making it challenging to safely and easily establish acommunications link with the desired device. For example, when a user isin a public environment with a large number of unfamiliar devices, theuser may have difficulty finding and selecting the desired device withwhich he or she desires to communicate wirelessly.

SUMMARY

An electronic device may be provided with wireless circuitry. Thewireless circuitry may include one or more antennas. The antennas mayinclude millimeter wave antenna arrays formed from arrays of millimeterwave antennas on millimeter wave antenna array substrates. The antennasmay also include wireless local area network antennas, satellitenavigation system antennas, cellular telephone antennas, and otherantennas.

The electronic device may be provided with control circuitry and adisplay. The control circuitry may determine where nearby electronicdevices are located relative to the electronic device. When a wirelesscommunications link is established with a nearby device, the controlcircuitry may use the display to inform a user of the status of thewireless communications link and the location of the nearby device. Thedisplay may produce images that indicate where the nearby device islocated such as a line extending in the direction of the nearby device.The line may move on the display in response to movement of the nearbydevice.

In an environment with multiple nearby devices that are in range forwireless communications, the display of an electronic device may show anotification for each nearby device. The location and size of eachnotification on the display may be based on the relative location andproximity of the associated nearby device. For example, largernotifications on the display may indicate a closer device, and anotification on the right hand side of the display may indicate thenearby device is on the right hand side of the electronic device.

The control circuitry may determine when the electronic device isoriented in a particular way relative to a nearby device. In response todetermining that the electronic device is arranged end-to-end orside-to-side with another device, for example, the control circuitry mayuse wireless transceiver circuitry to automatically exchange informationwith the electronic device or may automatically prompt the user toindicate whether the user would like to exchange information with theelectronic device.

An electronic device may use information about the location of nearbydevices to make sharing with those devices more intuitive for a user.When two devices are pointed towards one another and/or when two devicesare within an appropriate range of one another, each device mayautomatically present the option to share information with the otherdevice. When a user wishes to share information with one or more devicesin a group of users, an array of icons representing the nearby users maybe positioned on the display according to the locations of the nearbyusers so that the sharing user can easily select which user he or shewishes to share with. A sharing user may broadcast a signal and nearbyusers may elect to receive the signal by pointing their devices towardsthe sharing user. A user of two devices may share information betweenthe two devices and may use one device to manipulate the position andcontrol of information on the other device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device withwireless communications circuitry and sensors in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an illustrative electronic device withwireless communications circuitry and sensors in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of an illustrative transceiver circuit and antennain accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative dipole antenna in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an illustrative patch antenna that maybe used in an electronic device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an illustrative array of millimeter waveantennas on a millimeter wave antenna array substrate in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an illustrative network having nodes inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating how a distance between an illustrativeelectronic device and a node in a network may be determined inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing how a location and orientation of anillustrative electronic device relative to nodes in a network may bedetermined in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an illustrative scene in which thelocation and orientation of a node relative to other nodes in a networkmay be determined in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an illustrative scene in which theabsolute location and orientation of a node may be determined usinganchored nodes in a network in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices showing howeach user may be informed of an established wireless communications linkin accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices showing howeach user may be informed of the location and orientation of the otheruser's electronic device when a wireless communications link isestablished in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices showing howeach user may be informed of a broken wireless communications link inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices showing how auser may be informed of the position of nearby electronic devices inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices showing howinformation may be exchanged when the electronic devices are placed nextto one another in accordance with an embodiment.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are top views of illustrative electronic devices showinghow display elements may be modified based on the position of a nearbyelectronic device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating how information may be shared betweentwo devices when the two devices are intentionally pointed towards oneanother in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a top view of an illustrative image that may be displayed astwo devices are pointed towards one another in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 21 is a top view of an illustrative image that may be displayed topresent a user with an option to share information with another user inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a top view of an illustrative image that may be displayedupon receiving information from another user in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 23 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices that mayestablish new connections with unrecognized devices and maintainconnections with recognized electronic devices in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 24 is a top view of illustrative electronic devices displayingimages of mutual calendar openings based on information that is sharedbetween the two electronic devices in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating how a user may share information withone or more devices in a group in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a top view of illustrative electronic device in which asharing device displays icons according to the location of nearbydevices to assist a user in selecting which device the user wishes toshare information with in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating how a user may broadcast a signal fromhis or her electronic device and other users may receive the signal bypointing their devices at the broadcasting device in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view illustrating how a user may shareinformation between two or more of the user's devices in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating how the location of sharedinformation on a display of the receiving device may be based on thelocation of the sending device relative to the receiving device inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating anelectronic device with intuitive sharing capabilities of the typedescribed in connection with FIGS. 1-29 in accordance with anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In some wireless systems, the services that are provided may depend onthe position of one wireless communications device relative to anotherwireless communications device. For example, consider a scenario inwhich a user of a first wireless device wishes to share information witha user of a second wireless device. When the two devices are within anappropriate range of one another, a short-range communications link maybe established and information may be exchanged over the communicationslink.

In this type of scenario, it may be desirable for a user to not onlyknow when a wireless communications link has been established, but alsoto easily control which device he or she exchanges information with. Forexample, in a crowded room where multiple wireless communicationsdevices are close enough to establish a communications link, it may bedesirable for the user to be better informed of which devices are nearthe user, where the devices are located relative to the user, andwhether and with whom a communications link has been established. It mayalso be desirable for the user to have better and more intuitive controlover which device the user shares information with, what information isshared, and when the information is communicated between the twodevices.

An electronic device such as electronic device 10 of FIG. 1 may havecontrol circuitry that determines where other objects or devices(sometimes referred to as nodes) are located relative to electronicdevice 10. The control circuitry in device 10 may synthesize informationfrom cameras, motion sensors, wireless circuitry such as antennas, andother input-output circuitry to determine how far a node is relative todevice 10 and/or to determine the orientation of device 10 relative tothat node. The control circuitry may use output components in device 10to provide output (e.g., display output, audio output, haptic output, orother suitable output) to a user of device 10 based on the position ofthe node.

Antennas in device 10 may include cellular telephone antennas, wirelesslocal area network antennas (e.g., WiFi® antennas at 2.4 GHz and 5 GHzand other suitable wireless local area network antennas), satellitenavigation system signals, and near-field communications antennas. Theantennas may also include antennas for handling millimeter wavecommunications. For example, the antennas may include millimeter wavephased antenna arrays. Millimeter wave communications, which aresometimes referred to as extremely high frequency (EHF) communications,involve signals at 60 GHz or other frequencies between about 10 GHz and400 GHz.

Wireless circuitry in device 10 may support communications using theIEEE 802.15.4 ultra-wideband protocol. In an IEEE 802.15.4 system, apair of devices may exchange wireless time stamped messages. Time stampsin the messages may be analyzed to determine the time of flight of themessages and thereby determine the distance (range) between the devices.

Electronic device 10 may be a computing device such as a laptopcomputer, a computer monitor containing an embedded computer, a tabletcomputer, a cellular telephone, a media player, or other handheld orportable electronic device, a smaller device such as a wristwatchdevice, a pendant device, a headphone or earpiece device, a deviceembedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user's head, orother wearable or miniature device, a television, a computer displaythat does not contain an embedded computer, a gaming device, anavigation device, an embedded system such as a system in whichelectronic equipment with a display is mounted in a kiosk or automobile,equipment that implements the functionality of two or more of thesedevices, or other electronic equipment. In the illustrativeconfiguration of FIG. 1, device 10 is a portable device such as acellular telephone, media player, tablet computer, or other portablecomputing device. Other configurations may be used for device 10 ifdesired. The example of FIG. 1 is merely illustrative.

As shown in FIG. 1, device 10 may include a display such as display 14.Display 14 may be mounted in a housing such as housing 12. For example,device 10 may have opposing front and rear faces and display 14 may bemounted in housing 12 so that display 14 covers the front face of device10 as shown in FIG. 1. Housing 12, which may sometimes be referred to asan enclosure or case, may be formed of plastic, glass, ceramics, fibercomposites, metal (e.g., stainless steel, aluminum, etc.), othersuitable materials, or a combination of any two or more of thesematerials. Housing 12 may be formed using a unibody configuration inwhich some or all of housing 12 is machined or molded as a singlestructure or may be formed using multiple structures (e.g., an internalframe structure, one or more structures that form exterior housingsurfaces, etc.). If desired, different portions of housing 12 may beformed from different materials. For example, housing sidewalls may beformed from metal and some or all of the rear wall of housing 12 may beformed from a dielectric such as plastic, glass, ceramic, sapphire, etc.Dielectric rear housing wall materials such as these may, if desired, bylaminated with metal plates and/or other metal structures to enhance thestrength of the rear housing wall (as an example).

Display 14 may be a touch screen display that incorporates a layer ofconductive capacitive touch sensor electrodes or other touch sensorcomponents (e.g., resistive touch sensor components, acoustic touchsensor components, force-based touch sensor components, light-basedtouch sensor components, etc.) or may be a display that is nottouch-sensitive. Capacitive touch screen electrodes may be formed froman array of indium tin oxide pads or other transparent conductivestructures.

Display 14 may include an array of pixels formed from liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic pixels, an arrayof plasma pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode pixels, anarray of electrowetting pixels, or pixels based on other displaytechnologies.

Display 14 may be protected using a display cover layer such as a layerof transparent glass, clear plastic, sapphire, or other transparentdielectric. Openings may be formed in the display cover layer. Forexample, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer toaccommodate a button such as button 16. Buttons such as button 16 mayalso be formed from capacitive touch sensors, light-based touch sensors,or other structures that can operate through the display cover layerwithout forming an opening.

If desired, an opening may be formed in the display cover layer toaccommodate a port such as speaker port 18. Openings may be formed inhousing 12 to form communications ports (e.g., an audio jack port, adigital data port, etc.). Openings in housing 12 may also be formed foraudio components such as a speaker and/or a microphone.Dielectric-filled openings 20 such as plastic-filled openings may beformed in metal portions of housing 12 such as in metal sidewallstructures (e.g., to serve as antenna windows and/or to serve as gapsthat separate portions of antennas from each other).

Antennas may be mounted in housing 12. If desired, some of the antennas(e.g., antenna arrays that may implement beam steering, etc.) may bemounted under dielectric portions of device 10 (e.g., portions of thedisplay cover layer, portions of a plastic antenna window in a metalhousing sidewall portion of housing 12, etc.). With one illustrativeconfiguration, some or all of rear face of device 12 may be formed froma dielectric. For example, the rear wall of housing 12 may be formedfrom glass plastic, ceramic, other dielectric. In this type ofarrangement, antennas may be mounted within the interior of device 10 ina location that allows the antennas to transmit and receive antennasignals through the rear wall of device 10 (and, if desired, throughoptional dielectric sidewall portions in housing 12). Antennas may alsobe formed from metal sidewall structures in housing 12 and may belocated in peripheral portions of device 10.

To avoid disrupting communications when an external object such as ahuman hand or other body part of a user blocks one or more antennas,antennas may be mounted at multiple locations in housing 12. Sensor datasuch as proximity sensor data, real-time antenna impedance measurements,signal quality measurements such as received signal strengthinformation, and other data may be used in determining when one or moreantennas is being adversely affected due to the orientation of housing12, blockage by a user's hand or other external object, or otherenvironmental factors. Device 10 can then switch one or more replacementantennas into use in place of the antennas that are being adverselyaffected.

Antennas may be mounted at the corners of housing, along the peripheraledges of housing 12, on the rear of housing 12, under the display coverlayer that is used in covering and protecting display 14 on the front ofdevice 10 (e.g., a glass cover layer, a sapphire cover layer, a plasticcover layer, other dielectric cover layer structures, etc.), under adielectric window on a rear face of housing 12 or the edge of housing12, under a dielectric rear wall of housing 12, or elsewhere in device10. As an example, antennas may be mounted at one or both ends 50 ofdevice 10 (e.g., along the upper and lower edges of housing 12, at thecorners of housing 12, etc.).

A schematic diagram of illustrative components that may be used indevice 10 is shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, device 10 may includestorage and processing circuitry such as control circuitry 22. Controlcircuitry 22 may include storage such as hard disk drive storage,nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or otherelectrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solidstate drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamicrandom-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry 22may be used to control the operation of device 10. This processingcircuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers,digital signal processors, baseband processor integrated circuits,application specific integrated circuits, etc.

Control circuitry 22 may be used to run software on device 10, such asinternet browsing applications, voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP)telephone call applications, email applications, media playbackapplications, operating system functions, etc. To support interactionswith external equipment, control circuitry 22 may be used inimplementing communications protocols. Communications protocols that maybe implemented using control circuitry 22 include internet protocols,wireless local area network protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11protocols—sometimes referred to as WiFi®), protocols for othershort-range wireless communications links such as the Bluetooth®protocol, cellular telephone protocols, MIMO protocols, antennadiversity protocols, satellite navigation system protocols, millimeterwave communications protocols, IEEE 802.15.4 ultra-widebandcommunications protocols, etc.

Device 10 may include input-output circuitry 24. Input-output circuitry24 may include input-output devices 26. Input-output devices 26 may beused to allow data to be supplied to device 10 and to allow data to beprovided from device 10 to external devices. Input-output devices 26 mayinclude user interface devices, data port devices, and otherinput-output components. For example, input-output devices 26 mayinclude one or more displays 14 (e.g., touch screens or displays withouttouch sensor capabilities), one or more image sensors 30 (e.g., digitalimage sensors), motion sensors 32, and speakers 34. Input-output devices26 may also include buttons, joysticks, scrolling wheels, touch pads,key pads, keyboards, microphones, haptic elements such as vibrators andactuators, status indicators, light sources, audio jacks and other audioport components, digital data port devices, light sensors, capacitancesensors, proximity sensors (e.g., a capacitive proximity sensor and/oran infrared proximity sensor), magnetic sensors, and other sensors andinput-output components.

Image sensors 30 may include one or more visible digital image sensors(visible-light cameras) and/or one or more infrared digital imagesensors (infrared-light cameras). Image sensors 30 may, if desired, beused to measure distances. For example, an infrared time-of-flight imagesensor may be used to measure the time that it takes for an infraredlight pulse to reflect back from objects in the vicinity of device 10,which may in turn be used to determine the distance to those objects.Visible imaging systems such as a front and/or rear facing camera indevice 10 may also be used to determine the position of objects in theenvironment. For example, control circuitry 22 may use image sensors 30to perform simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). SLAM refers tothe process of using images to determine the position of objections inthe environment while also constructing a representation of the imagedenvironment. Visual SLAM techniques include detecting and trackingcertain features in images such as edges, textures, room corners, windowcorners, door corners, faces, sidewalk edges, street edges, buildingedges, tree trunks, and other prominent features. Control circuitry 22may rely entirely upon image sensors 30 to perform simultaneouslocalization and mapping, or control circuitry 22 may synthesize imagedata with range data from one or more distance sensors (e.g.,light-based proximity sensors). If desired, control circuitry 22 may usedisplay 14 to display a visual representation of the mapped environment.

Motion sensors 32 may include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magneticsensors (e.g., compasses), and other sensor structures. Sensors 32 ofFIG. 2 may, for example, include one or more microelectromechanicalsystems (MEMS) sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones,force sensors, pressure sensors, capacitive sensors, or any othersuitable type of sensor formed using microelectromechanical systemstechnology).

Motion sensors 32 may include circuitry for detecting movement andorientation of device 10. Motion sensors that may be used in sensors 32include accelerometers (e.g., accelerometers that measure accelerationalong one, two, or three axes), gyroscopes, compasses, pressure sensors,other suitable types of motion sensors, etc. Storage and processingcircuitry 22 may be used to store and process motion sensor data. Ifdesired, motion sensors, processing circuitry, and storage that formmotion sensor circuitry may form part of a system-on-chip integratedcircuit (as an example).

Other sensors that may be included in input-output devices 26 includeambient light sensors for gathering information on ambient light levels,proximity sensor components (e.g., light-based proximity sensors,capacitive proximity sensors, and/or proximity sensors based on otherstructures).

Input-output circuitry 24 may include wireless communications circuitry36 for communicating wirelessly with external equipment. Wirelesscommunications circuitry 36 may include radio-frequency (RF) transceivercircuitry formed from one or more integrated circuits, power amplifiercircuitry, low-noise input amplifiers, passive RF components, one ormore antennas 48, transmission lines, and other circuitry for handlingRF wireless signals. Wireless signals can also be sent using light(e.g., using infrared communications).

Wireless communications circuitry 36 may include radio-frequencytransceiver circuitry for handling various radio-frequencycommunications bands. For example, circuitry 36 may include transceivercircuitry 40, 42, 44, and 46.

Transceiver circuitry 40 may be wireless local area network transceivercircuitry. Transceiver circuitry 40 may handle 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bandsfor WiFi® (IEEE 802.11) communications and may handle the 2.4 GHzBluetooth® communications band.

Circuitry 36 may use cellular telephone transceiver circuitry 42 forhandling wireless communications in frequency ranges such as acommunications band from 700 to 960 MHz, a band from 1710 to 2170 MHz, aband from 2300 to 2700 MHz, other bands between 700 and 2700 MHz, higherbands such as LTE bands 42 and 43 (3.4-3.6 GHz), or other cellulartelephone communications bands. Circuitry 42 may handle voice data andnon-voice data.

Millimeter wave transceiver circuitry 44 (sometimes referred to asextremely high frequency transceiver circuitry) may supportcommunications at extremely high frequencies (e.g., millimeter wavefrequencies such as extremely high frequencies of 10 GHz to 400 GHz orother millimeter wave frequencies). For example, circuitry 44 maysupport IEEE 802.11ad communications at 60 GHz. Circuitry 44 may beformed from one or more integrated circuits (e.g., multiple integratedcircuits mounted on a common printed circuit in a system-in-packagedevice, one or more integrated circuits mounted on different substrates,etc.).

Ultra-wideband transceiver circuitry 46 may support communications usingthe IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and/or other wireless communicationsprotocols. Ultra-wideband wireless signals may be characterized bybandwidths greater than 500 MHz or bandwidths exceeding 20% of thecenter frequency of radiation. The presence of lower frequencies in thebaseband may allow ultra-wideband signals to penetrate through objectssuch as walls. Transceiver circuitry 46 may operate in a 2.4 GHzfrequency band and/or at other suitable frequencies.

Wireless communications circuitry 36 may include satellite navigationsystem circuitry such as Global Positioning System (GPS) receivercircuitry 38 for receiving GPS signals at 1575 MHz or for handling othersatellite positioning data (e.g., GLONASS signals at 1609 MHz).Satellite navigation system signals for receiver 38 are received from aconstellation of satellites orbiting the earth.

In satellite navigation system links, cellular telephone links, andother long-range links, wireless signals are typically used to conveydata over thousands of feet or miles. In WiFi® and Bluetooth® links at2.4 and 5 GHz and other short-range wireless links, wireless signals aretypically used to convey data over tens or hundreds of feet. Extremelyhigh frequency (EHF) wireless transceiver circuitry 44 may conveysignals over these short distances that travel between transmitter andreceiver over a line-of-sight path. To enhance signal reception formillimeter wave communications, phased antenna arrays and beam steeringtechniques may be used (e.g., schemes in which antenna signal phaseand/or magnitude for each antenna in an array is adjusted to performbeam steering). Antenna diversity schemes may also be used to ensurethat the antennas that have become blocked or that are otherwisedegraded due to the operating environment of device 10 can be switchedout of use and higher-performing antennas used in their place.

Wireless communications circuitry 36 can include circuitry for othershort-range and long-range wireless links if desired. For example,wireless communications circuitry 36 may include circuitry for receivingtelevision and radio signals, paging system transceivers, near fieldcommunications (NFC) circuitry, etc.

Antennas 48 in wireless communications circuitry 36 may be formed usingany suitable antenna types. For example, antennas 48 may includeantennas with resonating elements that are formed from loop antennastructures, patch antenna structures, inverted-F antenna structures,slot antenna structures, planar inverted-F antenna structures,monopoles, dipoles, helical antenna structures, Yagi (Yagi-Uda) antennastructures, hybrids of these designs, etc. If desired, one or more ofantennas 48 may be cavity-backed antennas. Different types of antennasmay be used for different bands and combinations of bands. For example,one type of antenna may be used in forming a local wireless link antennaand another type of antenna may be used in forming a remote wirelesslink antenna. Dedicated antennas may be used for receiving satellitenavigation system signals or, if desired, antennas 48 can be configuredto receive both satellite navigation system signals and signals forother communications bands (e.g., wireless local area network signalsand/or cellular telephone signals). Antennas 48 can include phasedantenna arrays for handling millimeter wave communications.

In configurations for device 10 in which housing 12 has portions formedfrom metal, openings may be formed in the metal portions to accommodateantennas 48. For example, openings in a metal housing wall may be usedin forming splits (gaps) between resonating element structures andground structures in cellular telephone antennas. These openings may befilled with a dielectric such as plastic. As shown in FIG. 1, forexample, a portion of plastic-filled opening 20 may run up one or moreof the sidewalls of housing 12.

A schematic diagram of a millimeter wave antenna or other antenna 48coupled to transceiver circuitry 76 (e.g., wireless local area networktransceiver circuitry 40, cellular telephone transceiver circuitry 42,millimeter wave transceiver circuitry 44, ultra-wideband transceivercircuitry 46, and/or other transceiver circuitry in wireless circuitry36) is shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, radio-frequency transceivercircuitry 76 may be coupled to antenna feed 80 of antenna 48 usingtransmission line 70. Antenna feed 80 may include a positive antennafeed terminal such as positive antenna feed terminal 68 and may have aground antenna feed terminal such as ground antenna feed terminal 66.Transmission line 70 may be formed from metal traces on a printedcircuit or other conductive structures and may have a positivetransmission line signal path such as path 74 that is coupled toterminal 68 and a ground transmission line signal path such as path 72that is coupled to terminal 66. Transmission line paths such as path 70may be used to route antenna signals within device 10. For example,transmission line paths may be used to couple antenna structures such asone or more antennas in an array of antennas to transceiver circuitry76. Transmission lines in device 10 may include coaxial cable paths,microstrip transmission lines, stripline transmission lines,edge-coupled microstrip transmission lines, edge-coupled striplinetransmission lines, transmission lines formed from combinations oftransmission lines of these types, etc. Filter circuitry, switchingcircuitry, impedance matching circuitry, and other circuitry may beinterposed within transmission line 70 and/or circuits such as these maybe incorporated into antenna 48 (e.g., to support antenna tuning, tosupport operation in desired frequency bands, etc.).

If desired, signals for millimeter wave antennas may be distributedwithin device 10 using intermediate frequencies (e.g., frequencies ofabout 5-15 GHz rather than 60 Hz). The intermediate frequency signalsmay, for example, be distributed from a baseband processor or otherwireless communications circuit located near the middle of device 10 toone or more arrays of millimeter wave antennas at the corners of device10. At each corner, upconverter and downconverter circuitry may becoupled to the intermediate frequency path. The upconverter circuitrymay convert received intermediate frequency signals from the basebandprocessor to millimeter wave signals (e.g., signals at 60 GHz) fortransmission by a millimeter wave antenna array. The downconvertercircuitry may downconvert millimeter wave antenna signals from themillimeter wave antenna array to intermediate frequency signals that arethen conveyed to the baseband processor over the intermediate frequencypath.

Device 10 may contain multiple antennas 48. The antennas may be usedtogether or one of the antennas may be switched into use while otherantenna(s) are switched out of use. If desired, control circuitry 22 maybe used to select an optimum antenna to use in device 10 in real timeand/or to select an optimum setting for adjustable wireless circuitryassociated with one or more of antennas 48. Antenna adjustments may bemade to tune antennas to perform in desired frequency ranges, to performbeam steering with a phased antenna array, and to otherwise optimizeantenna performance. Sensors may be incorporated into antennas 48 togather sensor data in real time that is used in adjusting antennas 48.

In some configurations, antennas 48 may include antenna arrays (e.g.,phased antenna arrays to implement beam steering functions). Forexample, the antennas that are used in handling millimeter wave signalsfor extremely high frequency wireless transceiver circuits 44 may beimplemented as phased antenna arrays. The radiating elements in a phasedantenna array for supporting millimeter wave communications may be patchantennas, dipole antennas, dipole antennas with directors and reflectorsin addition to dipole antenna resonating elements (sometimes referred toas Yagi antennas or beam antennas), or other suitable antenna elements.Transceiver circuitry can be integrated with the phased antenna arraysto form integrated phased antenna array and transceiver circuit modules.

An illustrative dipole antenna is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4,dipole antenna 48 may have first and second arms such as arms 48-1 and48-2 and may be fed at antenna feed 80. If desired, a dipole antennasuch as dipole antenna 48 of FIG. 4 may be incorporated into a Yagiantenna (e.g., by incorporating a reflector and directors into dipoleantenna 48 of FIG. 4).

An illustrative patch antenna is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5,patch antenna 48 may have a patch antenna resonating element 48P that isseparated from and parallel to a ground plane such as antenna groundplane 48G. Arm 48A may be coupled between patch antenna resonatingelement 48P and positive antenna feed terminal 68 of antenna feed 80.Ground antenna feed terminal 66 of feed 80 may be coupled to groundplane 48G.

Antennas of the types shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and/or other antennas 48may be used in forming millimeter wave antennas. The examples of FIGS. 4and 5 are merely illustrative.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an illustrative millimeter wave antennaarray 48R formed from antenna resonating elements on millimeter waveantenna array substrate 134. Array 48R may include an array ofmillimeter wave antennas such as patch antennas 48 formed from patchantenna resonating elements 48P and dipole antennas 48 formed from arms48-1 and 48-2. With one illustrative configuration, dipole antennas 48may be formed around the periphery of substrate 134 and patch antennas48 may form an array on the central surface of substrate 134. There maybe any suitable number of millimeter wave antennas 48 in array 48R. Forexample, there may be 10-40, 32, more than 5, more than 10, more than20, more than 30, fewer than 50, or other suitable number of millimeterwave antennas (patch antennas and/or dipole antennas, etc.). Substrate134 may be formed from one or more layers of dielectric (polymer,ceramic, etc.) and may include patterned metal traces for formingmillimeter wave antennas and signal paths. The signals paths may couplethe millimeter wave antennas to circuitry such as one or more electricaldevices 136 mounted on substrate 134. Device(s) 136 may include one ormore integrated circuits, discrete components, upconverter circuitry,downconverter circuitry, (e.g., upconverter and downconverter circuitrythat forms part of a transceiver), circuitry for adjusting signalamplitude and/or phase to perform beam steering, and/or other circuitryfor operating antenna array 48R.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of an illustrative network of objects thatelectronic device 10 may recognize and/or communicate wirelessly with.Network 100 may include nodes 78. Nodes 78 may be passive or active.Active nodes in network 100 may include devices that are capable ofreceiving and/or transmitting wireless signals such as signals 58.Active nodes in network 100 may include tagged devices such as taggeditem 54, electronic equipment such as electronic equipment 52, and otherelectronic devices such as electronic devices 10′ (e.g., devices of thetype described in connection with FIG. 2, including some or all of thesame wireless communications capabilities as device 10). Tagged item 54may be any suitable object that has been provided with a wirelessreceiver and/or a wireless transmitter. For example, tagged device 54may be a key fob, a cellular telephone, a wallet, a laptop, a book, apen, or other object that has been provided with a low-power transmitter(e.g., an RFID transmitter or other transmitter). Device 10 may have acorresponding receiver that detects the transmitted signals 58 fromdevice 54 and determines the location of device 54 based on the receivedsignals. Tagged device 54 may be passive (e.g., may not include aninternal power source and may instead be powered by electromagneticenergy from device 10 or other device) or may be active (e.g., mayinclude an internal power source).

Electronic equipment 52 may be an infrastructure-related device such asa thermostat, a smoke detector, a Bluetooth® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE)beacon, a WiFi® wireless access point, a server, a heating, ventilation,and air conditioning (HVAC) system (sometimes referred to as atemperature-control system), a light source such as a light-emittingdiode (LED) bulb, a light switch, a power outlet, an occupancy detector(e.g., an active or passive infrared light detector, a microwavedetector, etc.), a door sensor, a moisture sensor, an electronic doorlock, a security camera, or other device.

Device 10 may communicate with communicate with nodes 54, 52, and 10′using communications signals 58. Communications signals 58 may includeBluetooth® signals, near-field communications signals, wireless localarea signals such as IEEE 802.11 signals, millimeter wave communicationsignals such as signals at 60 GHz, ultra-wideband radio frequencysignals, other radio-frequency wireless signals, infrared signals, etc.Wireless signals 58 may be used to convey information such as locationand orientation information. For example, control circuitry 22 in device10 may determine the location of active nodes 54, 52, and 10′ relativeto device 10 using wireless signals 58. Control circuitry 22 may alsouse image data from image sensors 30, motion sensor data from motionsensors 32, and other sensor data (e.g., proximity data from a proximitysensor, etc.) to determine the location of active nodes 54, 52, and 10′.

Passive nodes in network 100 such as passive object 56 may includeobjects that do not emit or receive radio-frequency signals such asfurniture, buildings, doors, windows, walls, people, pets, and otheritems. Item 56 may be a tagged item that device 10 recognizes throughfeature tracking (e.g., using image sensor 30) or item 56 may be avirtually marked space that device 10 has assigned a set of coordinatesto. For example, control circuitry 22 may construct a virtualthree-dimensional space and may assign objects in the vicinity of device10 coordinates in the virtual three-dimensional space based on theirlocations relative to device 10. In some arrangements, the virtualthree-dimensional space may be anchored by one or more items with aknown location (e.g., may be anchored by one or more tagged items 54having a known location, electronic equipment 52 having a knownlocation, or other items with a known location). Device 10 may then“tag” passive items such as item 56 by recording where passive item 56is located relative to the anchored items in network 100. Device 10 mayremember the virtual coordinates of passive item 56 and may take certainactions when device 10 is in a certain location or orientation relativeto item 56. For example, if a user points device 10 in direction 62,control circuitry 10 may recognize that device 10 is being pointed atitem 56 and may take certain actions (e.g., may display informationassociated with item 56 on display 14, may provide audio output viaspeakers 34, may provide haptic output via a vibrator or haptic actuatorin device 10, and/or may take other suitable action). Because passiveitem 56 does not send or receive communication signals, circuitry 22 mayuse image data from image sensors 30, motion sensor data from motionsensors 32, and other sensor data (e.g., proximity data from a proximitysensor, etc.) to determine the location of passive item 56 and/or todetermine the orientation of device 10 relative to item 56 (e.g., todetermine when device 10 is being pointed at item 56).

FIG. 8 shows how device 10 may determine a distance D between device 10and node 78. In arrangements where node 78 is capable of sending orreceiving communications signals (e.g., tagged item 54, electronicequipment 52, or other electronic devices 10′ of FIG. 7), controlcircuitry 22 may determine distance D using communication signals (e.g.,signals 58 of FIG. 7). Control circuitry 22 may determine distance Dusing signal strength measurement schemes (e.g., measuring the signalstrength of radio signals from node 78) or using time based measurementschemes such as time of flight measurement techniques, time differenceof arrival measurement techniques, angle of arrival measurementtechniques, triangulation methods, time-of-flight methods, using acrowdsourced location database, and other suitable measurementtechniques. This is merely illustrative, however. If desired, controlcircuitry 22 may determine distance D using Global Positioning Systemreceiver circuitry 38, using proximity sensors (e.g., infrared proximitysensors or other proximity sensors), using image data from camera 30,motion sensor data from motion sensors 32, and/or using other circuitryin device 10.

In arrangements where node 78 is a passive object that does not send orreceive wireless communications signals, control circuitry 22 maydetermine distance D using proximity sensors (e.g., infrared proximitysensors or other proximity sensors), using image data from camera 30,and/or using other circuitry in device 10. In some arrangements, device10 may “tag” passive items by recording where passive item 56 is locatedrelative to other items in network 100. By knowing the location of item56 relative to anchored nodes in network 100 and knowing the location ofthe anchored nodes relative to device 10, device 10 can determine thedistance D between device 10 and node 78.

In addition to determining the distance between device 10 and nodes 78in network 100, control circuitry 22 may be configured to determine theorientation of device 10 relative to nodes 78. FIG. 9 illustrates howthe position and orientation of device 10 relative to nearby nodes suchas first node 78-1 and second node 78-2 may be determined. If desired,control circuitry 22 may use a horizontal coordinate system to determinethe location and orientation of device 10 relative to nodes 78-1 and78-2. In this type of coordinate system, control circuitry 22 maydetermine an azimuth angle θ and elevation angle q to describe theposition of nearby nodes 78 relative to device 10. Control circuitry 22may define a reference plane such as local horizon 162 and a referencevector such as reference vector 164. Local horizon 162 may be a planethat intersects device 10 and that is defined relative to a surface ofdevice 10. For example, local horizon 162 may be a plane that isparallel to or coplanar with display 14 of device 10. Reference vector164 (sometimes referred to as the “north” direction) may be a vector inlocal horizon 162. If desired, reference vector 164 may be aligned withlongitudinal axis 102 of device 10 (e.g., an axis running lengthwisedown the center of device 10). When reference vector 164 is aligned withlongitudinal axis 102 of device 10, reference vector 164 may correspondto the direction in which device 10 is being pointed.

Azimuth angle θ and elevation angle ϕ may be measured relative to localhorizon 162 and reference vector 164. As shown in FIG. 9, the elevationangle ϕ (sometimes referred to as altitude) of node 78-2 is the anglebetween node 78-2 and device 10's local horizon 162 (e.g., the anglebetween vector 166 extending between device 10 and node 78-2 and acoplanar vector 168 extending between device 10 and horizon 162). Theazimuth angle θ of node 78-2 is the angle of node 78-2 around localhorizon 162 (e.g., the angle between reference vector 164 and vector168).

In the example of FIG. 9, the azimuth angle and elevation angle of node78-1 are both 0° because node 78-1 is located in the line of sight ofdevice 10 (e.g., node 78-1 intersects with reference vector 164 andhorizontal plane 162). The azimuth angle θ and elevation angle ϕ of node78-2, on the other hand, is greater than 0°. Control circuitry 22 mayuse a threshold azimuth angle and/or a threshold elevation angle todetermine whether a nearby node is sufficiently close to the line ofsight of device 10 to trigger appropriate action.

Control circuitry 22 may also determine the proximity of nearby nodes 78relative to device 10. As shown in FIG. 9, for example, controlcircuitry 22 may determine that node 78-1 is a distance D1 from device10 and that node 78-2 is a distance D2 from device 10. Control circuitry22 may determine this type of orientation information using wirelesscommunications signals (e.g., signals 58 of FIG. 7), using proximitysensors (e.g., infrared proximity sensors or other proximity sensors),motion sensor data from motion sensors 32 (e.g., data from anaccelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, or other suitable motion sensor),using image data from camera 30, and/or using other circuitry in device10. Control circuitry 22 may use a threshold distance to determinewhether a nearby node is sufficiently close to device 10 to triggerappropriate action.

If desired, other axes besides longitudinal axis 102 may be used asreference vector 164. For example, control circuitry 22 may use ahorizontal axis that is perpendicular to longitudinal axis 102 asreference vector 164. This may be useful in determining when nodes 78are located next to a side portion of device 10 (e.g., when device 10 isoriented side-to-side with one of nodes 78).

After determining the orientation of device 10 relative to nodes 78-1and 78-2, control circuitry 22 may take suitable action. For example, inresponse to determining that node 78-1 is in the line of sight of device10 and/or within a given range of device 10, control circuitry 22 maysend information to node 78-1, may request and/or receive informationfrom 78-1, may use display 14 to display a visual indication of wirelesspairing with node 78-1, may use speakers 34 to generate an audioindication of wireless pairing with node 78-1, may use a vibrator, ahaptic actuator, or other mechanical element to generate haptic outputindicating wireless pairing with node 78-1, and/or may take othersuitable action.

In response to determining that node 78-2 is located at azimuth angle 0,elevation angle 9, and distance D2, relative to device 10, controlcircuitry 22 may use display 14 to display a visual indication of thelocation of node 78-2 relative to device 10, may use speakers 34 togenerate an audio indication of the location of node 78-2, may use avibrator, a haptic actuator, or other mechanical element to generatehaptic output indicating the location of node 78-2, and/or may takeother suitable action.

FIG. 10 illustrates a scenario in which the locations of nodes 78 aredetermined relative to other nodes 78 in network 100. In this type ofscenario, device 10 does not know the absolute location of nodes 78 innetwork 100. However, control circuitry 22 may determine the relativelocation of nodes 78 using signal strength measurement schemes (e.g.,measuring the signal strength of radio signals from nodes 78) or usingtime based measurement schemes such as time of flight measurementtechniques, time difference of arrival measurement techniques, angle oftechniques, triangulation methods, time-of-flight methods, using acrowdsourced location database, and other suitable measurementtechniques. For example, device 10 on second floor 104-2 of building 104may determine that one node 78 is directly below it on first floor 104-1of building 104 and that another node 78 is located on the same floor asdevice 10 at a certain distance away.

FIG. 11 illustrates a scenario in which the absolute locations of nodes78 are determined using anchored nodes 78′ in network 100. In this typeof arrangement, device 10 knows the locations (e.g., geographiccoordinates) of anchored nodes 78′ (e.g., a wireless access point, abeacon, or other electronic equipment 52, a tagged item 54 with a knownlocation, etc.) and uses this information to determine the absolutelocation of nodes 78 (e.g., nodes with unknown locations). Thus, inaddition to determining that one of nodes 78 is directly above device10, control circuitry 22 may determine the absolute location of nodes 78(e.g., the geographic coordinates of nodes 78).

Control circuitry 22 may use one or more output devices in device 10 toprovide information on nearby nodes 78 to a user of device 10. Theinformation may include, for example, how many nodes 78 are nearby, howclose nodes 78 are to device 10, where nodes 78 are located in relationto device 10, whether or not a wireless communications link has been orcan be established, the type of information that device 10 can send toor receive from nodes 78, and/or other suitable information. Controlcircuitry 22 may provide this type of information to a user with imageson display 14, audio from speakers 34, haptic output from a vibrator,haptic actuator, or other haptic element, light from a light source suchas a status indicator, and/or other output components in device 10.

It may be desirable for a user to know when and with what device awireless communications link has been established. FIG. 12 illustratesan example in which control circuitry uses display 14 to produce avisual representation of a wireless communications link that has beenestablished between device 10 and device 10′. In this example, display14 displays a tether such as tether 106 that appears to physically linkdevice 10′ to device 10. Tether 106 may be an image of a line, rope,chain, cord, pattern (e.g., dots, lines, circles, etc.), or otherdisplay object that is aligned toward device 10′. Device 10′ maygenerate a similar image such as tether 106′. Tether 106 and 106′ maypoint toward one another to give the appearance of a physical stringbetween device 10′ and device 10. If desired, tether 106 and tether 106′may extend to the edge of displays 14 and 14′, respectively, or tether106 and 106′ may stop short of the edge of displays 14 and 14′.respectively.

Control circuitry 22 may produce tether 106 when device 10 comes withina certain distance of device 10′ and/or when device 10 is oriented at agiven angle with respect to device 10′. Control circuitry 22 may, forexample, determine the angle between longitudinal axis 102 of device 10and longitudinal axis 102′ of device 10′. When control circuitry 22detects that longitudinal axis 102 aligns with longitudinal axis 102(e.g., when a user points the top end of device 10 at device 10′) andthat device 10′ is within a given distance of device 10 (e.g., 10 feet,20 feet, 30 feet, 50 feet, more than 50 feet, less than 50 feet, orother threshold distance), control circuitry 22 may display a visualindication of the wireless connection (e.g., a wireless communicationslink) that can be or has been established between device 10 and device10′.

Device 10 need not directly point at device 10′ in order to establish awireless communications link with device 10′. FIG. 13 illustrates anexample in which longitudinal axis 102 of device 10 and longitudinalaxis 102′ of device 10′ are separated by angle θ. When angle θ angle isless than a predetermined threshold and distance D is less than apredetermined threshold, control circuitry 22 may display a visualindication of the wireless link that can be or has been establishedbetween devices 10 and 10′.

If desired, the visual indication such as tether 106 may changeaccording to where and how devices 10 and 10′ are located and orientedrelative to one another. As shown in FIG. 13, for example, the locationof tether 106 and 106′ may change according to where devices 10 and 10′are located relative to one another. Tether 106 may have an anchoredportion such as anchored portion 106A and a moveable portion such asportion 106M. Moveable portion 106M may rotate around anchored portion106A based on where device 10′ is located. Similarly, tether 106′ mayhave a moveable portion 106M′ that rotates around an anchored portion106A′ based on where device 10 is located. This not only informs theuser of when a wireless connection is established, but it also informsthe user of where device 10′ is located relative to device 10, which canhelp avoid unintended connections with other devices in the vicinity ofdevice 10.

FIG. 14 shows how control circuitry 22 may use display 14 to provide avisual indication of a broken or inactive communications link. Whencontrol circuitry 22 detects that the distance D between devices 10 and10′ exceeds a predetermined threshold distance or that angle θ exceeds apredetermined threshold angle, control circuitry 22 may break thewireless communications link between devices 10 and 10′ (or this mayoccur automatically if the wireless connection is too weak). In theexample of FIG. 14, display 14 shows a broken end such as broken end 108on tether 106. Likewise, display 14′ may show broken end 108′ on tether106′. This helps inform the user of that the wireless communicationslink between device 10 and device 10′ is no longer established. Theexample of a broken or torn end of a tether is merely illustrative. Ingeneral, display 14 may generate any suitable visual indication to showthe user that device 10 is no longer wirelessly paired with device 10′.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example in which device 10 is operating in anenvironment where multiple devices are within sufficient range toestablish a wireless communications link. Display 14 may present imagesto show the user of device 10 which devices 10′ are nearby and wherethey are located relative to device 10. This may be done purely withtext on display 14 (e.g., device A is 5 feet away, device B is 6 feetaway, and device C is 5 feet away) or may be achieved with visual aidson display 14 that help the user more quickly assess which devices arenearby and where they are located relative to device 10. A user may thenselect which device it wants to exchange information with (e.g., sendinformation to or receive information from) by selecting the appropriatenotification 108. In response to receiving user input indicating whichdevice 10′ the user of device 10 wishes to exchange information with,control circuitry 22 may establish the wireless communications link withthat device 10′ (e.g., using wireless transceiver circuitry) so thatinformation can be exchanged over the wireless communications link. Ifdesired, display 14 may display an image of the type shown in FIG. 12 toinform the user that device 10 is wirelessly communicating with theselected device 10′.

As shown in FIG. 15, display 14 may generate a notification such asnotification 108 for each device 10′ within a given distance of device10. The locations of notifications 108 on display 14 may correspond towhere devices 10′ are respectively located relative to device 10 (e.g.,where devices 10′ are located relative to longitudinal axis 102). Forexample, device A is closest to top right corner 110 of device 10 andnotification 108 for device A may therefore be located on the top rightcorner of display 14. Device B is closest to top left corner 114 ofdevice 10 and notification 108 for device B may therefore be located onthe top left corner of display 14. Device C is closest to the lower lefthand side 114 of device 10 and notification 108 for device C maytherefore be located on the lower left hand side of display 14. When oneof devices 10′ moves relative to electronic device 10, control circuitry22 may change the location of notification 108 on display 14accordingly. For example, if devices A and B were to switch places,notifications 108 for devices A and B may also switch locations ondisplay 14, if desired.

In addition to having locations on display 14 that clue the user in asto which side of device 10 other devices 10′ are located, notifications108 may provide a visual indication of the proximity of devices 10′ todevice 10. For example, the color, size, shape, pattern, font, style, orother characteristic of notifications 108 may be adjusted according todistances D1, D2, and D3 between device 10 and devices A, B, and C,respectively. If D1 is smaller than D2, for example, notification 108for device A may be larger than notification 108 for device B,indicating to the user of device 10 that device A is closer than deviceB.

FIG. 16 shows an example in which information such as information 116 isshared between two devices such as device 10 and device 10′. Similar tothe example of FIG. 12, a wireless communications link may beestablished between device 10 and device 10′ when device 10′ is within apredetermined threshold distance of device 10. In some scenarios, a usermay only wish to share information 116 when device 10 is oriented in aparticular way relative to device 10′. In other scenarios, it may bedesirable to automatically share certain kinds of information 116 whendevice 10 is oriented in a particular way relative to another device10′.

To address these scenarios, control circuitry 22 may take certainactions when device 10 and device 10′ are positioned and oriented in aparticular way with respect to one another. In the example of FIG. 16,control circuitry 22 takes action with respect to information 116 whenlongitudinal axes 102 and 102′ align (e.g., when the top ends of devices10 and 10′ face one another and the angle between the two axes is lessthan a predetermined threshold angle.). This is, however, merelyillustrative. If desired, control circuitry 22 may take action withrespect to information 116 when devices 10 and 10′ are arrangedside-to-side (e.g., when longitudinal axis 102 and 102′ are parallel) orare arranged in any other suitable manner that is intended to triggerthe exchange of information 116.

If desired, other axes may be used to determine the orientation ofdevice 10 relative to device 10′. For example, control circuitry 22 maydetermine where device 10′ is located relative to horizontal axis 128that runs cross-wise through device 10 (e.g., a side-to-side axis thatextends between left and right sides of device 10 and is perpendicularto longitudinal axis 102). When horizontal axis 128 is used as areference, control circuitry 22 may determine the angle betweenhorizontal axis 128 of device 10 and horizontal axis 128′ of device 10.Control circuitry 22 may determine that device 10 and device 10′ arearranged side-to-side when their horizontal axes align and/or when theangle between the two axes is less than a predetermined threshold angle.

Upon determining that device 10 and device 10′ are oriented end-to-end,side-to-side, or other suitable trigger orientation, control circuitry22 may take suitable action with respect to information 116. This mayinclude, for example, displaying information 116 on display 14 so that auser of device 10 can confirm that the user wishes to send information116 to device 10′, or it may include automatically sending information116 to device 10′. As an example, information 116 may include contactinformation. If the user of device 10 wishes to exchange contactinformation with the user of device 10′, the two users may place devices10 and 10′ in the appropriate trigger location (e.g., end-to-end asshown in the example of FIG. 16, side-to-side, or other suitablearrangement). Upon detecting that device 10 and device 10′ are in theappropriate trigger location, control circuitry 22 may automaticallysend contact information 116 to device 10′ or may prompt the user totake action before sending contact information 116 to device 10′ (e.g.,may prompt a user to provide touch input, audio input, motion/gestureinput, or other suitable input to cause control circuitry 22 to sendcontact information 116 to device 10′).

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate how device 10 may provide other types ofoutput for a user to inform the user where nearby devices are locatedrelative to device 10. Control circuitry 22 may, for example, adjustuser interface elements on display 14 based on where other devices suchas device 10′ are located relative to device 10. This may include, forexample, creating images with shadows on display 14 that clue the userof device 10 in as to where device 10′ is located. For example, as shownin FIG. 17, display 14 may have user interface elements 118. Shadows 120may be displayed on the lower left corner of elements 118 when device10′ is to the right of device 10 (e.g., where device 10′ would becasting a shadow in direction 122). As shown in FIG. 18, shadows 120 maybe displayed on the lower right corner of element 118 when device 10 isto the left of device 10 (e.g., where device 10′ would be casting ashadow in direction 124).

This is, however, merely illustrative. In general, any display changemay be used to inform the user of device 10 as to the location of otherdevices 10′ in its vicinity. Display changes may include backgroundchanges, icon changes, or other suitable changes (e.g., changes inshape, shade, location, size, or other characteristic of elements ondisplay 14).

FIG. 19 illustrates how device 10 may be configured to initiate aconnection with nearby devices 10′ when it detects that that the twodevices are positioned in a certain way relative to one another. Therelative position that triggers a connection between the two devices maysometimes be referred to as a “mutual look.” A mutual look between twodevices may occur when both devices are pointed at one another, whenboth devices are within a predetermined distance from one another,and/or when other suitable conditions are met indicating that user 126wishes to connect his or her device 10 with device 10′ of another user128 (and that user 128 wishes to connect his or her device 10′ withdevice 10 of user 126). A mutual look may generally be characterized bytwo devices pointing “intentionally” at one another (e.g., device 10 isbeing intentionally pointed towards device 10′, and device 10′ is beingintentionally pointed towards device 10).

The conditions that must be met for control circuitry 22 to determinethat a mutual look has occurred may sometimes be referred to as mutuallook conditions. The mutual look conditions may be static (e.g., fixed)or may be dynamic and adjustable. Mutual look conditions may be adjustedbased on the context in which device 10 is operating. For example, whenthere is a greater chance of unintentional proximity or pointing betweendevices (e.g., in a crowded room, an elevator, or other multiple-devicescenario), control circuitry 22 may use a higher threshold to determineif a mutual look has occurred (e.g., a smaller distance and/or smallerangle between device 10 and device 10′ may be required to establish amutual look). In a less crowded room, on the other hand, controlcircuitry 22 may relax the threshold so that greater distances andlarger angles between the two devices may be sufficient to establish amutual look. Control circuitry 22 may adjust the mutual look parametersand thresholds based on how many people or devices are in the room withdevice 10, based on where device 10 is located (e.g., using a GPSreceiver or other location detection circuitry), based on calendarinformation stored on device 10, and/or based on other data that may beindicative of the ambient environment in which device 10 is operating.

Once control circuitry 22 in device 10 determines that a mutual look hasoccurred, control circuitry 22 may initiate a connection with device10′. Initiating a connection may include automatically establishing aconnection with device 10′ upon detecting a mutual look, or may includeautomatically notifying user 126 of device 10 of the opportunity toconnect with device 10′. Once a connection has been established (eitherautomatically in response to a mutual look or after user 126 hasprovided input), information 130 may be shared between device 10 anddevice 10′. Sharing information may include sending information 130 fromdevice 10 to device 10′ and/or may include device 10 receivinginformation from device 10′. Information 130 may be contact information,social media content, one or more photos or videos, documents, page,calendar data, location information, music data (e.g., a recommendedsong, album, etc.), an application (e.g., an application that user 128can download to device 10′), a web page, or any other suitableinformation.

In arrangements where the connection is established automatically,information may automatically be shared between device 10 and device10′. The sharing may occur immediately upon detection of a mutual look,or the sharing may occur a predetermined period of time after the mutuallook (e.g., absent any user input indicating that he or she does notwish to share or connect with device 10′). Information 130 may beinformation that the user has previously identified or selected forsharing with one or more devices 10′.

In arrangements where control circuitry 22 notifies a user of theopportunity to connect before automatically sharing information, controlcircuitry 22 may present output to user 126 upon detecting a mutual look(e.g., visual output on display 14, audio output via one or morespeakers, haptic output via one or more vibrators or actuators, and/orother suitable output). User 126 may then provide input to device 10. Ifthe user input indicates a desire to share, control circuitry 22 mayestablish a connection with device 10′, upon which information 130 maybe exchanged with device 10′ (e.g., information may be sent from device10 to device 10′ and/or from device 10′ to device 10 once a connectionhas been established). The user input may be touch input (e.g., the usermay provide touch input by tapping the information to be shared, byswiping the information to be shared towards the other device 10′, or byproviding other suitable types of touch input), gesture input (e.g., ashake or other movement of device 10′), audio input, or other suitableinput.

FIGS. 20, 21, and 22 show an illustrative sequence of screenshots thatmay be displayed on device 10 during and after a mutual look betweendevice 10 of user 126 and device 10′ of user 128, as described inconnection with FIG. 19. FIG. 20 shows that an initial notification 132may be displayed to inform the user that another device 10′ is either inor approaching the mutual look position. Notification 132 may change(e.g., may become more prominent) as device 10′ comes closer or ispointed more directly at device 10, or notification 132 may be staticand may only appear when a mutual look has occurred.

Upon detecting a mutual look, control circuitry 22 may notify user 126of the opportunity to share information with device 10′ using anotification such as a visual notification, audio notification, hapticnotification, or other suitable notification. As shown in FIG. 21,notification 132 may be displayed on display 14. Notification 132 may bea visual representation of information 130, a description of information130, or a confirmation or authorization prompt that is presented to user126 so that user 126 can authorize or deny sending information 130 to orreceiving information from device 10′. In the example of FIG. 21,notification 132 may be a visual representation of contact informationfor user 126 of device 10 (e.g., an image of user 126 and associatedcontact information such as a phone number, email address, etc.), whichmay prompt to user 126 to decide whether user 126 wishes to share his orher contact information with device 10′. This is, however, merelyillustrative. Notification 132 may correspond to other information(e.g., information 130 described in connection with FIG. 19), or anyother suitable information on device 10 that can be shared or that hasbeen previously identified as being information that user 126 wishes toshare.

If desired, control circuitry 22 may predict what information 130 user126 would want to share based on data from input-output devices (e.g.,based on how close device 10 is to device 10′, based on whether controlcircuitry 22 recognizes device 10′ or has previously communicated withdevice 10′, based on user input to a touch sensor in display 14, basedon a user's location, based on gesture input gathered by a motion sensorin device 10, and/or based on data from other input-output devices), maybe based on information stored on device 10 (e.g., calendarinformation), and/or may be based on other factors. For example, if acalendar stored on device 10 and/or a user's current location indicatesthat the user is at a networking event, control circuitry 22 mayautomatically present a contact information notification 132 whichprompts the user to confirm or authorize sending his or her contactinformation to user 128.

Control circuitry 22 may send information 130 to device 10′automatically upon detection of a mutual look (e.g., after apredetermined period of time has passed without user 126 indicating thathe or she does not wish to communicate with device 10′) or may only sendinformation 130 to device 10′ upon receiving suitable user input fromuser 126. In one suitable arrangement, user 126 can provide touch inputto display 14 to cause control circuitry 22 to send information 130 todevice 10′ (e.g., by swiping notification 132 towards device 10′ indirection 136, or by providing any other suitable touch input). This is,however, merely illustrative. User input may be gesture or motion input(e.g., a shaking of device 10, an up-down or side-to-side movement ofdevice 10, or other intentional movement of device 10 by user 126)gathered by a motion sensor, audio input gathered by a microphone,biometric input gathered by a biometric sensor (e.g., fingerprintdetection, face detection, gaze tracking, etc.), image sensor datagathered by a camera, and/or other suitable type of user input.

User input may also be used to determine when user 126 does not wish toshare information with device 10′. For example, touch input, motioninput, audio input, or other suitable input may be used to preventdevice 10 from sharing information with device 10′. If desired, therapidity with which a user pulls device 10 away from device 10′ may becompared with a threshold, where a faster pull away from device 10′signifies a desire not to connect with device 10′, and a slower pullaway from device 10′ signifies that device 10 should continue to presentthe option to share until additional user input is received. Thresholdsmay be adjusted based on interactions between two devices. A rapid pullaway from device 10′ may, for example, result in a lower speed thresholdfor future interactions with device 10′ so that the user can more easilyprevent future connections with device 10′.

FIG. 22 shows how device 10 may receive information from device 10′aftera mutual look has occurred. Information received from device 10′ may berepresented with a notification to user 126 such as notification 132′(e.g., a visual representation of the information received from device10′, a description of the information received from device 10′, an audioor haptic notification of the information received from device 10′, orother suitable notification of information received from device 10′).Information from device 10′ may be automatically accepted by device 10and displayed on display 14 upon detection of a mutual look, orinformation may be accepted by device 10 upon receiving suitable userinput from user 126. The user input may be the same user input that user126 provides to send information 130 to device 10′ (e.g., user inputindicating a desire to connect with or send information to device 10′may also cause circuitry 22 to accept information from device 10′), orthe user input may be separate user input that is specificallyassociated with receiving information from device 10′ (e.g., may be auser's response to a prompt that informs the user of the option toreceive information from device 10′). Any suitable information may bereceived from device 10′. In the example of FIG. 22, device 10 hasreceived contact information (e.g., contact information associated withuser 128) from device 10′. Notification 132′ may be an image of user 128indicating that the contact information of user 128 has been received(e.g., a phone number, email address, or other contact informationassociated with user 128).

Once device 10 has established a connection with device 10′ over awireless communications link, the connection may be broken by user 126moving device 10 away from device 10′ (or providing other suitableinput). If desired, a connection with device 10′ may persist even afteruser 126 moves device 10 away from device 10′. For example, a mutuallook may be used to establish a semi-permanent connection or memorybetween device 10 and device 10′, which may then cause control circuitry22 to take certain actions when device 10′ is in the vicinity of device10. An illustrative example of this type of arrangement is shown in FIG.23.

Consider a scenario in which device 10′ of user 128 is not one thatdevice 10 has communicated with before (e.g., no previous mutual lookbetween device 10 and device 10′ has occurred). In order to establish aconnection with device 10′ and share information with device 10′, user126 and user 128 may bring devices 10 and 10′ within the predetermineddistance and orientation to establish a mutual look. Device 10″ of user134, on the other hand, may be one that device 10 has communicated withpreviously (e.g., after a mutual look, or via email, text, phone call,or other suitable communication method). Control circuitry 22 mayrecognize device 10″ and may take suitable action upon detecting device10″. For example, a mutual look may not be required for device 10 toinform user 126 of the presence of device 10″ and user 134. Rather, alower threshold of position and orientation of device 10 relative todevice 10″ may be used to trigger a notification to user 126 of thepresence of device 10″. When device 10″ is within a certain distance ofdevice 10, for example, control circuitry 22 may inform user 126 of thepresence of device 10″ (e.g., may present notification 132 of FIG. 21),even if device 10 and device 10″ are not pointed directly towards oneanother. If desired, the notification 132 to user 126 may be tailored tothe knowledge that device 10 already has about device 10″.

When a connection has been established between device 10 and device 10′(or device 10″), control circuitry 22 may automatically take certainactions. Control circuitry 22 may automatically prompt user 126 to sharecertain information. For example, control circuitry 22 may sync photoswith device 10′, may identify and reveal similarities or differencesbetween device 10 and device 10′ (e.g., shared musical tastes, unsharedmusical tastes, shared photo locations, mutually available calendardates, shared social media connections, etc.). As shown in FIG. 24, forexample, control circuitry 22 may exchange calendar information withdevice 10′ upon establishing a connection with device 10′. Based oncalendar data received from device 10′ and calendar data stored ondevice 10, control circuitry 22 may identify mutually available timeslots that are open for both user 128 and user 126. Display 14 maydisplay a calendar image highlighting or otherwise indicating themutually available time slot 136.

FIG. 25 illustrates a scenario in which user 126 of device 10 may havethe option of sharing with multiple users in the vicinity of user 126.As shown in FIG. 26, users 128-1, 128-2, and 128-3 have devices 10′ thatare within the vicinity of device 10. In some scenarios, devices 10′ mayall be positioned and oriented relative to device 10 such that a mutuallook is established between device 10 and devices 10′ (e.g., in whicheach device 10′ is intentionally pointing at device 10 and vice versa,as described in connection with FIG. 19). In other scenarios, a mutuallook between each pair of devices may not be required in order toinitiate sharing. Instead, user 126 may provide user input to device 10indicating that he or she wishes to share information with one or moredevices in the vicinity of device 10. For example, user 126 may select a“share” icon on display 14 or may provide other suitable user inputindicating that user 126 wishes to share information 130 with nearbydevices. When this sharing is initiated by user 126, device 10 may beable to share information with devices 10′ without requiring users128-1, 128-2, and 128-3 to point their devices towards device 10.

When control circuitry 22 determines that there are more than one device10′ in the vicinity of device 10, control circuitry 22 may prompt user126 to select which user(s) user 126 wishes to send information 130 to.FIG. 26 illustrates how control circuitry 22 may prompt user 126 toselect one or more nearby users with which user 126 wishes to shareinformation 130 (e.g., a photograph or other suitable information). Uponreceiving input from user 126 that user 126 wishes to share information130 (or in response to determining that a mutual look with multipledevices has occurred), control circuitry 22 may use display 14 to showuser 126 which users are within the vicinity of device 10. As shown inFIG. 26, display 14 may display an icon representing each nearby user.If desired, the location of the icon on display 14 may be based on thelocation of the associated device 10′ relative to device 10. Forexample, icon 138-1 representing device 10′ of user 128-1 to the left ofuser 126 may be located on the left hand side of display 14; icon 138-2representing device 10′ of user 128-2 in front of user 126 may belocated at the center of display 14; and icon 138-3 representing device10′ of user 128-3 to the right of user 126 may be located on the righthand side of display 14.

If desired, control circuitry 22 may monitor the location of devices 10′relative to device 10 and may change the location of icons on display 14according to where devices 10′ are positioned relative to device 10. Forexample, if user 126 moves device 10 in direction 142 so that device 10is pointing towards device 10′ of user 128-1, icon 138-1 may shift indirection 160 to the center of display 14, icon 138-2 may shift indirection 144 to the right hand side of display 14, and icon 138-3 mayshift further to the right on display 14 or may be removed from display14.

To send information 130 to a nearby device, user 126 may select thecorresponding icon on display 14. For example, a user may select icon138-1 to share information 130 with device 10′ of user 128-1, icon 138-2to share information 130 with device 10′ of user 128-2, and/or icon138-3 to share information 130 with device 10′ of user 128-3. In anothersuitable arrangement, user 126 may swipe up on information 130 to sendinformation 130 to the device 10′ that device 10 is pointing towards.User 126 may use icons 138-1, 138-2, and 138-3 to determine which device10′ the information would go to upon swiping (e.g., a swipe up oninformation 130 may cause information 130 to be sent to whichever deviceis represented at the center of display 14). This is merelyillustrative, however. If desired, any other suitable type of user inputmay be used to cause control circuitry 22 to send information 130 to oneor more devices 10′ in the vicinity of device 10.

In situations where user 126 wishes to share information 130 withmultiple devices (e.g., belonging to a group of users), it may bedesirable to broadcast the information and allow each device in thegroup to retrieve the information by taking actions on their owndevices. This may help user 126 share information more efficiently thanhaving user 126 individually select which users it wishes to sendinformation to. An example of this type of arrangement is shown in FIG.27.

As shown in FIG. 27, user 126 may wish to share information 130 with agroup of users 128. This can be achieved using a method of the typedescribed in connection with FIG. 19, 25, or 26 where user 126 selectsor gestures towards the user(s) that user 126 wishes to share with, orit can be achieved using a broadcasting method of the type illustratedin FIG. 27. Broadcasting may be initiated automatically in response tocertain environmental or other context-specific conditions, and/or maybe initiated in response to user input. For example, user 126 may selectwhich information 130 he or she wishes to share and may select abroadcast method for sharing. Upon receiving this user input, controlcircuitry 22 may begin broadcasting signal 140 associated withinformation 130 (e.g., a wireless signal of the type described inconnection with FIG. 7). Signal 140 may include a notification foralerting nearby users that content 130 is available for sharing, orsignal 140 may be content 130 itself.

In some implementations, users 128 need not take any action beforereceiving signal 140. With this type of arrangement, devices 10′ mayautomatically receive signal 140 that causes each device 10′ to presenta notification to users 128 that content 130 from device 10 isavailable. After receiving signal 140, each device 10′ may automaticallyestablish a connection with device 10 to download content 130, or device10′ may wait to detect user input indicating that user 128 wishes toreceive content 130. The user input may be an intentional pointing ofdevice 10′ towards the source of signal 140, touch input to device 10′,a gesturing of device 10′ towards device 10, or other suitable input todevice 10′.

In other implementations, users 128 must take action before receivingsignal 140 (e.g., by pointing devices 10′ at device 10, by providingtouch input to devices 10′, by gesturing devices 10′ towards device 10,or by providing other suitable input to devices 10′).

The broadcast method of FIG. 27 allows user 126 to easily shareinformation without requiring user 126 to take any additional action(e.g., user 126 need not point device 10 at any device 10′ in the groupin order to send information 130 to devices 10′).

Devices 10′ may include circuitry similar to that of device 10 (e.g., adisplay, wireless communications circuitry, and other circuitry of thetype shown in FIG. 2). Device 10′ may automatically display an option toreceive content 130 upon receiving signal 140 using wirelesscommunications circuitry and/or upon detecting an intentional pointingof device 10′ towards the source of signal 140 (i.e., towards device10). When user 128 provides appropriate user input indicating that user128 wishes to receive or subscribe to content 130 (e.g., via touchinput, gesture input, or a continued intentional pointing of device 10′towards device 10), control circuitry in device 10′ may receive content130 (e.g., using wireless communications circuitry) and may present theinformation to user 128 (e.g., using a display).

If desired, the broadcasting device 10 may be used to control the outputon devices 10′ by changing signal 140. As long as devices 10′ arevoluntarily subscribing to signal 140, user 126 can change the contentof information 130 and control circuitry 22 may change signal 140accordingly so that the output on devices 10′ corresponds to the updatedcontent of information 130 (e.g., the content on devices 10′ may besynced in time and location with the content on device 10). For example,if information 130 is a song that user 126 is sharing with users 128,devices 10′ may play the same song (in sync with device 10) uponreceiving signal 140 from device 10. If the user pauses the song orskips to the next song on device 10, control circuitry 22 may changesignal 140 accordingly such that the song is also paused or skipped ondevices 10′. Other examples of control commands that user 126 can sendover signal 140 to control the output on devices 10′ include videocontrol commands (e.g., playing, pausing, or otherwise controlling videooutput on device 10′), web page control commands (e.g., scrolling up ordown on a web page on device 10′), photo browsing control commands(e.g., browsing through photos on device 10′), and/or other types ofcontrol commands. The commands sent to device 10′ may mirror thecommands that user 126 provides to information 130 on device 10.

In some situations, user 126 may have multiple devices and may wish toand intuitively share information among his or her devices and/or toeasily switch from one device to another. FIG. 28 illustrates an examplein which user 126 wishes to view information 130 (that the user has onfirst device 10) on second device 10′. In one illustrative example, bothdevice 10 and device 10′ belong to user 126. When devices 10 and 10′both belong to the same user, sharing between the two devices may beinitiated more easily (with less friction) than when the two devices areowned by different people. Control circuitry 22 may still monitorinput-output circuitry 24 to determine when a possible sharingopportunity between device 10 and device 10′ has arisen, but thethreshold for predicting such a scenario may be lower to enable a moreseamless sharing experience between the multiple devices. For example,the minimum threshold distance and angle(s) required between device 10and device 10 to trigger a sharing opportunity (see, e.g., FIG. 9) maybe larger, so that sharing is more easily initiated. If desired,different or fewer parameters may be monitored (e.g., proximity alonewithout any minimum angle requirement may be sufficient to initiatesharing between device 10 and device 10′ when the two devices are ownedby the same user). Once these relaxed conditions are met (e.g., when thetwo devices are within a predetermined distance of one another), controlcircuitry 22 may automatically share information 130 with device 10′ ormay prompt user 126 to confirm that he or she wishes to shareinformation 130 with device 10′.

In some situations, device 10 and device 10′ may both store similar setsof information. For example, a file may be stored on device 10 anddevice 10′, or both devices may be synced to the same set of data on acloud server. In this type of scenario, device 10 need not sendinformation 130 to device 10′. Rather, device 10 may send a signal todevice 10′ that instead causes device 10′ to locate and open information130′ on device 10′ (or download information 130′ from a cloud server).

FIG. 29 illustrates how a user may control the output on device 10′ bymanipulating device 10. When device 10 is pointed towards or held nearleft hand side 182 of device 10′, information 130-1 that the user issharing from device 10 may appear on the left hand side of display 14′(see information 130-1′ near side 182 of device 10′). When device 10 ispointed towards or held near right hand side 184 of device 10,information 130-2 that the user is sharing from device 10 may appear onthe right hand side of display 14′ (see information 130-2′ near side 184of device 10). The location of the information on display 14′ may bebased on the signals that device 10 sends to device 10′ (e.g.,indicating where on display 14′ the information should be displayed) ormay be based on information from sensors in device 10′ that determinewhere device 10 is located relative to device 10′.

As in the example of FIG. 27, the sending device 10 may be used tocontrol the output on receiving device 10′ by changing the signal fromdevice 10. For example, the content on devices 10′ may be synced in timeand location with the content on device 10 (e.g., user 126 can controlthe song, video, document, web page, photo, or other output on device10′ by manipulating the content on device 10 and sending correspondingmedia control commands to device 10′).

A flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating a device withintuitive sharing capabilities is shown in FIG. 30.

At step 200, control circuitry 22 may monitor data from input-outputcircuitry 24 to determine when user 126 of device 10 is in a possiblesharing scenario with nearby device(s). A sharing scenario may arisebetween device 10 and device 10′ when the two devices are close enoughto establish a wireless communications link. The data may include datafrom a touch sensor (e.g., a touch sensor in display 14 or othersuitable touch sensor), wireless communications circuitry 36, proximitysensors (e.g., infrared proximity sensors or other proximity sensors),motion sensors 32 (e.g., data from an accelerometer, a gyroscope, acompass, or other suitable motion sensor), camera 30, and/or othercircuitry in device 10. Control circuitry 22 may monitor the data foruser input (e.g., a gesture, motion, positioning or pointing, audioinput, touch input, or other user input) indicating user 126 wishes toshare or connect with another device. Control circuitry 22 may alsomonitor the data to predict when user 126 wishes to share or connectwith another device without requiring the user to provide input todevice 10. This may include monitoring the position and orientation ofdevice 10 relative to other devices 10′ and/or monitoringcharacteristics of the user's environment. If desired, differentparameters with different thresholds (e.g., context-based thresholdssuch as minimum distances and minimum angles that are based on thenumber of people or devices in the same room as device 10) may be usedto analyze data from input-output circuitry 24.

If no possible sharing scenario is detected (e.g., no user inputindicating a desire to share and/or no detection of a nearby electronicdevice within sharing range), processing loops back to step 200 andcontrol circuitry 22 continues to monitor data from input-outputcircuitry 24 for possible sharing opportunities. If a possible sharingscenario is detected in step 200, processing proceeds to step 202.

At step 202, control circuitry 22 provides the user with informationabout the sharing option. This may include prompting user 126 to confirmor select what information user 126 wishes to share, to confirm orselect which user or device 10′ user 126 wishes to share with, toconfirm how the information should be sent (e.g., via a broadcastedsignal that is available to multiple users, via a signal that isdesignated for a specific device, via a signal that causes a receivingdevice owned by user 126 to open up an identical file on that device,etc.), and/or to confirm or provide other input before information isshared with another device 10′.

At step 204, control circuitry 22 may gather and analyze data frominput-output devices to determine if information should be shared withanother device and if so, which information should be shared. This mayinclude, for example monitoring user input such as a touch, a swipe, amotion or gesture, an audio input, or other user input. This may includecomparing the speed with which a user pulls device 10 away from device10′ to determine if the pulling away signifies an intentional indicationthat the user does not wish to connect with device 10′ or if the pullingaway was an unintentional movement of device 10 that should not disruptsharing.

If desired, control circuitry 22 may monitor user input for a certaintime period. The user may adjust the settings on device 10 such thatinformation is automatically sent at the end of the time period (absentuser input indicating the user does not wish to share), or the settingsmay be adjusted such that information is only sent if the user activelyconfirms or otherwise authorizes the sharing within the time period.

If control circuitry 22 determines that the user does not wish to share,processing loops back to step 200 and control circuitry 22 continues tomonitor data from input-output circuitry 24 for possible sharingopportunities. If control circuitry 22 determines that the user doeswish to share (and determines which information the user wishes toshare), processing proceeds to step 206.

At step 206, control circuitry 22 may share information with device 10′.This may include, sending information to and receiving information fromdevice 10′, may include only sending information to device 10′, mayinclude only receiving information from device 10′, or may includesending a signal to device 10′ that causes device 10′ to open upinformation that is already stored on device 10′. Information may beshared between device 10 and device 10′ over a wireless communicationslink using wireless communications signals (e.g., Bluetooth® signals,near-field communications signals, wireless local area signals such asIEEE 802.11 signals, millimeter wave communication signals such assignals at 60 GHz, ultra-wideband radio frequency signals, otherradio-frequency wireless signals, infrared signals, etc.).

The examples of FIGS. 12-30 in which control circuitry 22 uses display14 to provide a user of device 10 with a visual indication of thepresence, location, orientation of, option to share with, and/orconnection to nearby devices is merely illustrative. If desired, controlcircuitry 22 may supplement or replace the visual aid of display 14 withaudio output from speakers 34, haptic output from one or more vibratorsor actuators, light-based output from one or more light sources, orother informative output. Similar to how images on display 14 may changelocation, shape, color, etc. to help inform the user of where nearbydevices 10′ are located and when wireless communications links areestablished, output from other output devices may be adjusted to providethis type of information. For example, an audible beeping, a vibration,a haptic actuator output, or a light pulse on the left side of device 10may indicate the presence, proximity, or wireless communicationscapabilities of a device 10′ on the left hand side of device 10. Anysuitable characteristic of the output may be adjusted to alert the userof an approaching device, an established or broken wireless connection,proximity, orientation (e.g., the volume or tone of the audio output,the intensity or frequency of the vibration or haptic actuator output,the brightness of the light pulse, etc.).

The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can bemade to the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may beimplemented individually or in any combination.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: ultra-widebandtransceiver circuitry configured to receive signals from first andsecond external electronic devices; control circuitry configured todetermine an angle of arrival of the signals; and a display configuredto display a first option to share with the first external electronicdevice in a first location on the display and a second option to sharewith the second external electronic device in a second location on thedisplay, wherein the first and second locations are based on the angleof arrival of the signals.
 2. The electronic device defined in claim 1wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine whether theelectronic device is pointing closer to the first or second externalelectronic device based on the angle of arrival of the signals.
 3. Theelectronic device defined in claim 2 wherein the display is configuredto: display the first option closer to a center of the display when theelectronic device is pointing closer to the first external electronicdevice; and display the second option closer to the center of thedisplay when the electronic device is pointing closer to the secondexternal electronic device.
 4. The electronic device defined in claim 2wherein the first option is larger on the display than the second optionwhen the electronic device is pointing closer to the first externalelectronic device and wherein the second option is larger on the displaythan the first option when the electronic device is pointing closer tothe second external electronic device.
 5. The electronic device definedin claim 2 further comprising a motion sensor, wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to determine whether the electronic device ispointing closer to the first or second external electronic device basedat least partly on motion sensor data from the motion sensor.
 6. Theelectronic device defined in claim 1 further comprising a touch sensor,wherein the control circuitry is configured to share with the firstexternal electronic device when the touch sensor receives touch input onthe first option and is configured to share with the second externalelectronic device when the touch sensor receives touch input on thesecond option.
 7. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein thecontrol circuitry is configured to move the first and second options onthe display in response to a change in the angle of arrival of thesignals.
 8. The electronic device defined in claim 1 wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to determine distances to the first and secondexternal electronic devices based on the signals.
 9. The electronicdevice defined in claim 8 wherein the first and second locations arebased at least partly on the distances to the first and second externalelectronic devices.
 10. The electronic device defined in claim 1 whereinthe electronic device has a longitudinal axis and wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to determine an angle between the longitudinalaxis and the first and second external electronic devices based on thesignals.
 11. An electronic device, comprising: ultra-widebandtransceiver circuitry configured to receive signals from an externalelectronic device; control circuitry configured to determine whether theelectronic device is pointing toward the external electronic devicebased on the signals; and a display configured to automatically displayan option to receive data from the external electronic device inresponse to determining that the electronic device is pointing towardthe external electronic device.
 12. The electronic device defined inclaim 11 further comprising a touch sensor, wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to retrieve the data from the externalelectronic device when the touch sensor receives touch input on theoption.
 13. The electronic device defined in claim 11 further comprisinga motion sensor, wherein the control circuitry is configured todetermine whether the electronic device is pointing toward the externalelectronic device based at least partly on motion sensor data from themotion sensor.
 14. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein thecontrol circuitry is configured to determine an angle of arrival of thesignals.
 15. The electronic device defined in claim 11 wherein theelectronic device has a longitudinal axis and wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to determine an angle between the longitudinalaxis and the external electronic device.
 16. An electronic device,comprising: ultra-wideband transceiver circuitry configured to receivesignals from an external electronic device; and control circuitryconfigured to: determine whether the electronic device is pointingtoward the external electronic device based on the signals; and sendcontrol signals to the external electronic device to play a song inresponse to determining that the electronic device is pointing towardthe external electronic device.
 17. The electronic device defined inclaim 16 wherein the control circuitry is configured to determine anangle of arrival of the signals.
 18. The electronic device defined inclaim 16 wherein the control circuitry is configured to send additionalcontrol signals to the external electronic device to pause the song. 19.The electronic device defined in claim 16 wherein the electronic devicehas a longitudinal axis and wherein the control circuitry is configuredto determine an angle between the longitudinal axis and the externalelectronic device.
 20. The electronic device defined in claim 16 furthercomprising a motion sensor, wherein the control circuitry is configuredto determine whether the electronic device is pointing toward theexternal electronic device based at least partly on motion sensor datafrom the motion sensor.